The Storm's Legacy
by Lachenna
Summary: The DGM gang have been reincarnated in present times. Allen and Kanda have to deal with memories of the past, all with a baby on the way! Modern, reincarnation, mpreg, character death (sort of).
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This story got away from me. It was supposed to be a one-shot for Secret Souls, just something short, around 4000 words… The final word count is closer to 14,000. So instead of a one-shot you all get a four chapter short story.

In case you missed it in the description: there's mpreg in this story, so if that's something you don't like, why are you still here?

Also: there is character death in this story. Sort of. There's reincarnation involved, so the deaths take place in the past not the present. Everyone is alive and well in the story, the deaths are mostly described as "this is how so-and-so died back during the war". I did make myself cry writing it though, so if you can't handle that sort of thing you may want to stay away.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

Allen sat in front of the computer in the office of our apartment. He was determined to finish school early, so he spent most of his time there. Taking all of his classes online so he could finish them quicker. It probably stemmed from being younger than all of his friends, he felt the need to catch up. But mostly he wanted to graduate high school before the baby was born.

The way he sat there now, with his white hair pulled back yet still spilling into his face and that determined glint in his silver eyes, it was hard for me not to jump him. The reminder that the doctor had said we couldn't have sex again until after the baby came was fresh in my mind. Keeping my hands off that boy was beyond difficult. But it was for the baby, so I forced myself to stick to it.

Allen shifted in his seat, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders. The way that fabric wrapped around him effectively hid his pregnant belly from view. It was something he always did when video conferencing with one of his teachers. He didn't want anyone at the school to know of his "condition".

I leaned against the doorframe and daydreamed while I waited for his call to finish.

.x.x.

I met Allen Walker when I was a senior in high school. He transferred in in the middle of the year, as a sophomore even though he was barely fifteen. The British teen attracted everyone's attention immediately, and I was no exception. For the first few weeks the girls all swooned over his accent, and the boys all tried to be his new best friend; probably with the hopes of getting one of the girls that swarmed around him. I thought the whole thing was stupid.

Then came the day when everyone saw his scar for the first time. He had been covering it up with makeup. To this day I still don't know if something happened or if he simply decided not to cover it up that day. Either way it was the beginning of the end of his popularity. And that was something I never understood. The kid was literally the nicest guy on the planet, why did having a scar make him someone people didn't want to be around?

I had no interaction with the boy, we had no classes and no extracurriculars in common. But I was thankful for that. I had crushed on him the first time I laid eyes on him, and being at a distance allowed me to watch him without ruining my reputation. I just wanted to get over my crush quickly and move on. But then I saw his scar, and that just made him more attractive in my eyes.

It wasn't long after the scar incident before the bullying started. I saw it happening, and it disgusted me, but I didn't get involved. At least, not intentionally.

I ate lunch with Lavi, a fellow senior, and Lenalee, a sophomore; both of whom I'd known since I first moved here in elementary school. One day Lenalee showed up with Allen in tow. The boy looked scared to death. The bullies had found out that his brown hair was a wig and had forcibly taken it from him. Like with the scar, the boy's white hair only made my crush worse. I did the only thing I could and ignored him.

After that day he ate lunch with us. The bullying died down a little: he had Lavi's protection before and after school, and Lenalee's during the couple classes they had together. But the rest of the day he was fair game. I continued to ignore him.

Then one day we bumped into each other, quite literally, in the hall. "Watch where you're going, Moyashi."

"Moyashi? What- I am not a bean sprout! My name's Allen! Bakanda!"

The entire hallway froze, I wasn't someone to be messed with, and there was a scrawny, bullied kid talking back to me. I was more focused on the fact that he knew Japanese, than on the fact that he had called me an idiot. But I chased him down the hall anyway.

He sat with us at lunch despite what had happened. We exchanged insults throughout the meal, but neither of us caved.

No one bullied Allen after that. I guess they figured if he was crazy enough to challenge me and not back down then he wasn't someone they wanted to mess with.

Of course after that is when I started seeing him all the time. Lavi and Lenalee started bringing him along when we hung out together. I learned later that they knew all along that we liked each other, which was why they continued to drag us both along even though we fought like cats and dogs.

Allen started showing up at the restaurant where I worked too. I blamed Lavi for that, but it turned out that Allen didn't know I worked there. The owner was a family friend, and he'd been frequenting the place since he first came to town.

But once Allen did know that I worked there things between us changed. He didn't fight with me at work, he didn't want me to get fired because of him. And because we weren't fighting we discovered a common interest. We both loved food. Not in the same way, but I loved to cook and he loved to eat. We bonded over it. There was something wonderful about cooking for someone who appreciated the flavor of every crumb.

The school year ended, and Lavi and I graduated. I started working full time, and moved out of Teidoll's house. Lavi and Lenalee spent the summer goofing off before he went off to college. And Allen just disappeared. He claimed he had a job that took up all his time, but none of us saw or talked to him between graduation and the start of school in the fall.

Within a month of his return we were dating. Apparently a summer apart was all it took for us to realize that fighting was stupid.

.x.x.

"Hey Kanda. ... Kanda... Bakanda!" Shouting finally snapped him out of his daze. Shaking his shoulder worked better, but I wasn't getting up unless I had to. The weight of the child in my belly made it far too difficult. "Do you need something, or did you just come here to stare at me?"

He laughed and came into the room, his long navy blue hair falling out of its loose ponytail. "You know I can't pass up an opportunity to stare. You're so beautiful."

"I'm not beautiful, I'm fat." I grumbled, half because I believed it, half because I knew he'd say it again.

Kanda kissed the top of my head and placed his hands on my swollen belly. The baby started kicking the spot, like she always did when he touched my stomach. "You are absolutely gorgeous. And amazing. I don't know how you find the strength to carry our child and go to school."

I snorted. "I haven't left the apartment for anything other than doctor's appointments in weeks. You're the one who's amazing, working so long and hard to support me while I freeload."

"I'm the one who insisted you move in. You're not freeloading, you're pregnant." Then he leaned closer and whispered in my ear. "You'd stop feeling like you're freeloading if you'd just agree to marry me."

I shoved him away. "We've talked about that. I don't want to get married while I'm pregnant."

Kanda gave me a weird look and sat in the chair beside me. "Actually, you've never said why, just that you didn't. If the pregnancy is your only objection, then we can wait until the baby's born."

"It's more complicated than that-"

"Allen." Kanda leaned in and placed his hands back on my belly. "I'm not trying to convince you to go out and marry me right now. The only thing I want to happen is an engagement, just an acknowledgment from you that you do, eventually, want to marry me."

"Oh." Somewhere in the midst of all our arguments on the subject I had missed that key detail. I placed my hands on his and looked down at my baby bump. "Our daughter is growing inside me. Of course I want to marry you someday. I-"

He cut me off with a kiss. "I was going to order pizza, I came up to see what you wanted on it, but seeing as we just got engaged I should make something that's a little more special."

"Then you shouldn't have said 'pizza'." We both laughed, ever since I had gotten pregnant I was always hungry for pizza. "Besides, you cook all the time, isn't ordering in special in its own way?"

He laughed again and kissed my forehead as he stood up. "What do you want on it?"

"Meat. Veggies. Extra cheese." I was already practically drooling. "...Everything except pineapple."

I couldn't stand the smell of pineapple, it made me sick. Unfortunately, Hawaiian was Kanda's favorite kind of pizza. I felt bad that he couldn't eat what he wanted, but he insisted that he didn't mind giving it up. He said it was a small price to pay to keep the baby happy.

"Of course. One extra large pizza with everything on it, coming right up." He kissed my forehead again and left the room, leaving me to my school work.

.x.x.

Kanda and I got together at the start of my junior year. He had driven me crazy the year before, but after that summer apart I discovered that the reason I hated him was because I loved him.

After he learned that Cross had me gambling all summer, my uncle Jerry had made me take a job busing tables at his restaurant. The same restaurant where Kanda worked as a sous chef. It surprisingly wasn't awkward at all. There was no pressure for us to act like a couple and we fell into it naturally.

We began just hanging out together. We'd go back to his place after work, he'd throw on a movie, and I'd do my homework. There was cuddling and kissing, but nothing beyond a PG rating. We were both aware that I was only fifteen, neither of us was in a hurry for me to grow up.

Christmas break came, and with it: Lavi back from college. He flipped out when he realized Lenalee wasn't messing with him; that Kanda and I were actually dating. The teasing that followed became relentless once he learned we hadn't slept together yet.

Cross was actually the one to make Lavi stop. A simple reminder that I wasn't old enough to legally consent to sex was all it took to shut the redhead up. My gratitude toward my guardian died when break was over though. Because once I turned sixteen Cross picked up where Lavi left off. Apparently it was important to him that I lose my virginity as soon as possible.

Kanda waited until Valentine's Day. (I learned later that he knew I'd remember the date, so he intentionally picked something he could remember too.) And by then I wanted it as badly as he did. He cooked dinner for us, and it was absolutely amazing. Afterwards we had sex on the couch while some romantic comedy played in the background.

.x.x.

I forced myself out of my chair and down to the kitchen when the pizza arrived. It took some effort, but I was determined to do it. Being almost eight months pregnant was not an excuse to be lazy.

Kanda laughed at me when I plopped onto a stool at the counter. "I was going to bring it to you, you didn't have to come down."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You know as well as I do that the doctor said I can't just sit around all day."

"Somehow I don't think he meant dragging your butt up and down those stairs." He placed a plate in front of me. "But since you're here, let's turn on a movie. You've been studying all day. You need a break."

I shook my head, my mouth was too full to answer. "Moyashi. That wasn't a question. You need to relax a little. Too much stress is bad for the baby."

He picked up the pizza boxes and took them into the living room, giving me no choice but to follow him if I wanted more than the slice I'd already taken.

I sat down on the couch, almost completely at his mercy, I would need his help to get up. Once Kanda was satisfied that I was doing what he wanted, he started the movie and sat beside me.

When I had eaten my fill I leaned back against Kanda. He wrapped his arm around me and moved his hand to my belly. I fell asleep while he rubbed soothing circles into my sore body. Even with the pregnancy this was a hell of a lot better than the dates we had during the war.

.x.x.

It was the middle of March when the dreams started. They were fuzzy and broken, I could only recall bits and pieces in the morning. To make things more confusing, Kanda, Lenalee, and Lavi were having them too. They grew clearer, and therefore more confusing, as time passed. Dreams of a war, of fighting for our lives, began haunting everything we did.

In the midst of all that, Kanda and I had our first major fight. I was tired of being on the bottom and wanted a chance to be on top. He was being stubborn and wouldn't let me. So I was stubborn right back. I told him if he wanted sex again then he'd have to let me top. By the time summer break rolled around we hadn't had sex in almost a month.

Then one day we learned they weren't dreams, they were memories. Memories of our past lives as exorcists, fighting against the Earl.

We were at the mall when it happened. I was in the food court with Lavi and Lenalee, waiting for Kanda to join us for a movie. It felt like I blacked out. And when I woke up I remembered everything. (Or almost everything, there were things we wouldn't remember until after I got pregnant.) We all stared at each other in silence as we tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Lavi broke the silence first. "Well, Allen buddy, it was nice knowing ya."

I blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Kanda's going to kill you."

"Why?" Lenalee looked as confused as I felt.

"He hated you back then. And now in this life he's sleeping with you. You're dead once he gets his hands on you."

"What, you think his love for me is so shallow that he'll have forgotten all about it now that he remembers the past?" I was angry. And so was Kanda, he had arrived while Lavi was talking.

Lavi was quick to try to calm me down. "Not at all. But I remember how much he hated you back then, and-"

Kanda hit him in the head. "We were sleeping together back then too, Baka Usagi."

Lenalee was in my face immediately. "What?! How could you not tell me?!"

I laughed lightly as I moved away from her. "We worked for the Catholic Church in the 1800's. They would have executed us for it if they had found out. I couldn't tell you, I couldn't risk it."

Despite my efforts to escape, she caught me and wrapped me in a tight hug. "Oh Allen!"

"Come on Lenalee, don't do that. It was a long time ago. There's no need to cry over it now." I tried to move but her hug was too tight.

"But-"

Kanda pulled me away from her. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm no longer in the mood for a movie. The Moyashi and I have things we need to discuss."

I barely had a chance to say goodbye before he was dragging me away. He was silent the entire drive to his apartment. I had an idea what he wanted, so I didn't fight it.

My suspicions were proven right when he dragged me into his bedroom and threw me down on the bed. "The you from back then would have never let us go this long without sex. He would have topped me whether or not it was what I wanted."

I got up and kissed his neck, finding the spot my memories told me would make him melt. "The you from back then would be mortified by how often you kiss me in public. Let's not quibble over the past. Are you going to let me do this or not? Because unlike back then I don't have the physical strength to make you do anything."

I kissed his neck again and he moaned. I whispered in his ear. "I do, however, remember all the little things that make you unable to think. So will you cooperate or do I have to play dirty?"

.x.x.

I had to wake Allen to get him to the bedroom. In the past I would have been able to carry him, but with the shape I was in that wasn't happening while the boy was pregnant.

He was asleep again before he was properly on the bed. I watched him sleep for a while. He didn't realize it, but his face gave away exactly how stressed he was. As much as I loved how gorgeous he was pregnant, I wanted the next six weeks to pass quickly so Allen's body wouldn't be under so much strain.

Careful not to wake him, I removed his pants and covered him with the blankets. Then I went and cleaned up dinner. I placed the leftovers in the fridge, making sure to label what was mine so the Moyashi would leave it alone. When that was taken care of I trekked up the stairs to the office.

I don't know how Allen used those stairs in his condition, I was in much better shape than he was and I could barely stand how steep and narrow they were. One of these days he was going to hurt himself on them. I filed away a reminder to ask the doctor to tell Allen to stop taking the stairs.

The office was pretty clean, but then Allen didn't have much energy anymore, he didn't move from in front of the computer unless he was hungry or he had to pee (fortunately there was a bathroom upstairs, so I didn't have to worry about that). I looked over his school work before I shut off the computer; I'm not entirely sure why, my grades in those classes were crap. That probably had something to do with me already knowing what I wanted to do with my life and knowing I didn't need good grades for it.

I had a good job, I could support Allen and a child on it. We were in a comfortable position. Especially with the settlement from his medical case (Allen wasn't nearly as much of a freeloader as he claimed to be). I had what I wanted out of life, even more so now that the boy had finally agreed to marry me. But Allen... Allen still didn't know. The memories of the past didn't help, and neither did getting pregnant at sixteen. He would be a wonderful stay at home mom, but he would never agree to that.

My cellphone rang as I was headed back downstairs. I sat down on the steps and answered it. I much preferred texting, but it was Marie, I really had no choice but to take his call.

We talked about menial things until he got to the reason he called. "Teidoll's been complaining that he hasn't heard from you lately. You haven't told him about Allen yet, have you?"

"Like I want to explain to that man that I knocked up my _boyfriend_ , sounds like a real party." I could practically see the disappointed look on Marie's face at my sarcasm.

He sighed. "You should change your mind before he decides to just pop in on you. With his timing and your luck he'd show up when Allen was in labor."

The line was silent for a moment, but then I was struck with a sudden idea. "Hey Marie, you wouldn't happen to have a spare keyboard laying around, would you?"


	2. Chapter 2

The night after we remembered everything the nightmares started.

It was dark, I could barely see my surroundings. The only noise was a child crying. It was the kind of cry that broke my heart. I would search for the child and it would begin to call for its mother. No matter where I went or how hard I looked, I could never find the child. I would wake up with the screams still ringing in my ears.

I was convinced that the nightmare meant something. After all, the previous months' dreams had, so why shouldn't that incredibly vivid recurring nightmare?

Kanda called me crazy, but he eventually confessed that he too was having strange dreams about a mysterious child.

Then one day about a month later, the nightmares suddenly stopped. I never got the satisfaction of finding the child, but at least I was no longer being tormented in my sleep.

I tracked back the dates later, the night the nightmares stopped was the night I got pregnant.

.x.x.

I woke up to Kanda rubbing my belly. He leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Good morning sleepyhead."

I groaned, and he pushed me back down when I tried to sit up. "I'm heading in to work. Marie and Miranda are going to be stopping in to check on you around lunchtime. I want you to relax until they get here."

"But-"

"No buts. Stay in bed, or go sit in front of the TV. No school work, and no going upstairs." He kissed my forehead again. "Marie will know and he'll tell me, so do what you're told for a change."

"Fine." I stuck my tongue out at him.

He grabbed it with his teeth and pulled me into a kiss. "I'll be back tonight. Try to get some rest."

I forced myself out of bed after he left. If I was awake then I may as well use the restroom and get some breakfast.

I would have taken a shower to soothe my sore muscles, but that was forbidden when I was alone, there was too much risk of falling. So instead I dressed as comfortably as I could, trying to pretend I couldn't see my reflection in the mirror. I loved our baby girl dearly, but I hated the reflection that made me feel overweight, hated the stretch marks that marred my skin and made me feel ugly.

I stared at the living room for a bit. Why did Kanda have to suggest watching TV? I couldn't get off of any of the furniture without help. But Marie had a key, I wouldn't need to let him in. So I lay down on the couch. And promptly fell asleep.

.x.x.

That August I started throwing up at strange times and skipping meals. My love affair with food became a love-hate relationship. Some meals I was so hungry I could eat everything in sight, and others just the thought of food was enough to make me sick.

After about three weeks of that, Cross got worried enough to drag me to a doctor. We never really talked about the past, but the adults always claimed that they only remembered bits and pieces. But I know for a fact that Cross remembered that he died regretting not caring for me properly. Cross wasn't the greatest guardian, but he was compared to how he was back during the war. But once the memories came back his attitude changed completely. Starting that summer he acted like I was his son, and not just some kid he raised for government money. He actually quit drinking.

So when I got sick, he did what any worried parent would do, and took me to the doctor. But he didn't take me to any old doctor, he took me to Komui.

When I first came into Cross's care, I had an "eating disorder". Cross didn't want me eating him out of house and home, so he took me to a friend of his who was a doctor. Komui did a whole lot of tests on me, and then he got me into a drug trial. The medication worked great, it suppressed my appetite down to that of a normal person, and after a few months I didn't need to take it anymore. I never saw Komui again, until we moved back to town and I became friends with his sister.

It was slightly awkward going back to Komui as a doctor after knowing him as Lenalee's psychotic older brother, and remembering him as the Order's psychotic supervisor. But it was my stomach that was bothering me, and he knew my medical history in that area.

Komui did a lot of the same tests he did back when I first saw him. One of those tests was an ultrasound on my abdomen so he could see what was happening with my organs. It was routine, I didn't think anything of it. But I'll never forget the look on Komui's face when the first thing the machine picked up was a heartbeat.

I had no clue what was happening, but I knew something was wrong. "Komui, what the hell is going on?"

He sighed and turned the screen to where I could see it. "According to this, you're pregnant. Now it's probably a glitch in the software, so-"

"Oh my god. Erika." I wasn't even aware that I said the words out loud. I was too wrapped up in the sudden flow of memories of the child I had conceived and given birth to back during the war.

I was startled out of the memories by the sound of something clattering on the ground. Komui had dropped his clipboard. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. "That's right. You've been pregnant before."

He turned to stare at the screen. "Last time it was because of some potion I made. So what made it possible this time...?"

"Komui?" I was torn, I didn't know if I wanted to panic over being pregnant or if I was joyful over the possibility of once again holding Erika in my arms. "Can you focus please?"

Komui collected himself and returned his attention to the ultrasound. I was seven weeks pregnant, due in the middle of April. He did some other tests, then I went out to sit with Cross in the waiting room while Komui processed everything.

I didn't know what to say to Cross. He died before I got pregnant last time. Which left me with wondering what present day Cross's reaction would be. Would he accept it or would he throw me out?

I would have to tell Kanda too. And as ecstatic as I was to hold Erika again, I knew he wouldn't feel the same way. Our daughter broke his heart back then, I had a feeling that he wouldn't be so happy to see her again.

Komui called me back in after what felt like hours. His tests confirmed that I really was pregnant, but I had known they would. I was going to get a second chance to know my daughter.

The other results weren't as ... satisfying. I was able to get pregnant because of the medication that I had taken for my eating disorder. The drug interacted with my hormones when I hit puberty and caused my body to develop a fully functional uterus.

(Cross was all too happy to sue the pharmaceutical company on my behalf. They were so eager to avoid a lawsuit that they offered us a huge settlement. It was such a large amount that, even after Cross's cut, I would never have to work another day in my life.)

.x.x.

I woke up to the sounds of someone in the apartment. And the smell of food. "Hey. How long have you guys been here?"

Miranda came into the living room carrying a stack of plates. "About fifteen minutes. We thought it best to let you sleep. You looked exhausted."

She set the plates down on the coffee table as I sat up. Then she helped me to my feet so I could go to the bathroom. When I came back they had lunch set up. I sat on the couch beside Marie, trying to ignore the way my belly filled my lap. Erika was getting bigger, and that was a good thing, but I wished it didn't have to make me so uncomfortable.

After lunch they finally told me why they came, though I wouldn't have put it past Kanda to have had them come over just because he thought I needed cheering up.

Miranda put her hands over my eyes and led me to the corner of the room. She helped me sit down on a stool. When she finally uncovered my eyes I saw a keyboard piano.

Marie laughed at my surprise. "Kanda said you used to play. He thought you might like to have something other than studying to do." He ran a hand over some of the keys. "It's one of my old ones. You'll want to get a new one if you decide to take up playing again, but this one will work just fine in the meantime."

I was at a loss for words. Kanda had done some pretty amazing things for me, but this took the cake.

.x.x.

The Moyashi was being weird. He'd gotten sick and gone to see a doctor. That was three days ago. And ever since then it seemed like his head was always in the clouds.

I had a hard day at work. I loved my job, but it was just one of those days where I needed a cigarette. I leaned up against my car and lit one. And Allen showed up almost immediately.

He leaned back beside me and didn't say anything. I was immediately on edge. He hated it when I smoked. If he caught me he'd take the cigarette and snuff it out. But he didn't that time.

I scowled down at him, and he was looking up at me with those big silver pools. When our gazes locked he spoke only one word. "Erika."

The cigarette fell from my fingers, but I didn't notice. I was too caught up in the memories of my daughter, how wonderful she was, the way my life revolved around her, how it nearly killed me when she died. I knew I was crying, but I couldn't stop the tears. My heart was breaking all over again.

I glared at Allen through the tears. If he remembered her, then he remembered exactly what her loss did to me. Why would he intentionally break me in this life? I was better off forgetting about her. "Why? Why would you...?"

"I'm pregnant."

I gaped down at him. "If this is your idea of a joke..."

He leaned against me, that distant look had returned to his eyes. "I'm seven weeks along. Eri's going to be joining us in April."

"No. Don't. You can't do that to me." I choked back a sob. This was too painful. "You can't- you can't know it's her. Don't get my hopes up like that."

"Yuu?" The look he gave me was full of hurt.

"Start at the beginning, and this time do it without mentioning ...Eri." I could barely say her name, the memories hurt so badly.

He sighed. "I knew you were going to take this badly, but I didn't think it would be that extreme." Another sigh. "Though I suppose I can be grateful that you're willing to hear me out."

He wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned in closer. "Like I already said, I'm seven weeks pregnant, the baby's due in April. I found out three days ago when I went to the doctor. I was on an experimental medication a few years ago, it messed with my hormones when I hit puberty and caused my body to develop a uterus."

I didn't know what to say. It wasn't weird that Allen was expecting a baby, not when I had crystal clear memories of making love while he was heavily pregnant. But in the present the boy was still in high school, and I didn't know if I was in a position where I could support a baby.

Allen took my silence as permission to keep talking. "See? Erika is coming back to us. We can be a family again."

There was so much hope in his voice. It was painful. "Why are you so convinced it's her?"

"Hmm?" He hugged my waist tighter.

"How are you so sure that the child you're carrying is ...Erika? It's too early, you can't know yet if the baby's even a girl."

"The nightmares. They stopped the night I got pregnant." He sighed. "And before you tell me that's just a coincidence, my memories of Eri came back when Komui told me I was pregnant. And then there's-"

"Stop. I know I asked, but stop. I can't let you get my hopes up like this."

His arm fell from my waist. "You _want_ to see Eri again? I thought you'd hate me for reminding you of her, that you'd hate me for getting pregnant with her again."

"Allen, I want to see Eri more than anything. But if I let you convince me that she's coming back, and then it's not her, I'll never recover." I pulled him into a hug. "I can't lose her a second time. So please, we're having a baby, it may even turn out to be a girl, but it can't be Eri."

He kissed me. "I understand."

.x.x.

The apartment was full of the sounds of a piano when I returned from work. It immediately lifted my spirits. I had never heard Allen play before, but I knew from those few sounds that he was happier than he'd been in a long time.

I walked into the living room to find Allen perched precariously on a stool in front of a keyboard. He was lost in what he was doing and hadn't heard me come in. I walked over and kissed the top of his head, laughing at the way he jumped in surprise. "I'm home."

He threw himself at me. "Yuu! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

I kissed him as I tried to keep us from falling over. "I'm glad you like it."

"I _love_ it." We kissed again. "You're so amazing."

"You're the amazing one, Moyashi." I laughed. "But we had this fight yesterday, I don't think we need to do it again."

He smiled, the brightness that had disappeared over the past few months was back. "Fine. But you have to tell me how I can repay you for this," he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "since we can't have sex..."

"Moyashi, all I need from you is that smile. I've missed it." I laughed and moved my hands to his belly. Our little girl was awake, she started kicking the spot where my hands were. "But the real answer to that is: Teidoll wants to have dinner with us on Monday."

"Kandaaaa..."

"I know. I don't want to either. But Marie insisted. And he made several points that I couldn't argue with." I nudged Allen back towards the piano stool. "Have you eaten yet?"

He laughed as he sat back down. "I had leftover pizza about two hours ago."

"Then you'll be hungry by the time dinner is ready." We both laughed. He picked a notebook up off the keyboard and began scribbling in it. I frowned at the notebook. "You went upstairs."

"I did not." He smacked me lightly on the arm. "I tried to, but Miranda flipped out at me. She and Marie brought all my school stuff down. The computer's in the baby's room now."

I could have kicked myself. _Why hadn't I thought of moving the computer?_ There was a funny look on the Moyashi's face. "She's going to make a great mom."

There was something about the way he said that... "Miranda's pregnant?"

He nodded and went back to writing. That explained why Marie was so insistent that I talk to Teidoll. He couldn't tell him about Miranda until I told him about Allen.

.x.x.

It was the day after I told Kanda that everything hit me. I was pregnant. At sixteen. I was supposed to be starting my senior year of high school in a couple days. Most _girls_ couldn't be pregnant and go to high school at the same time. How was _I_ supposed to do it?

Komui was the one who came up with the idea to take classes online. He and Cross teamed up to get me into the program even though the admission period had passed.

Cross still didn't know. He had been told I had a never before seen condition that was caused by that medication. He didn't believe it, but he pretended to.

He cornered me in the bathroom one night when the morning sickness hit during dinner. "Alright, Allen. I'm tired of you pretending that you don't know what's really going on. Spill."

I sighed and stared at the floor. I wasn't ready for this, but he wasn't giving me a choice. "If I was a girl, what would you think is wrong with me?"

Cross snorted. "That you're pregnant, obviously. But you're not some pathetic woman who-"

"Please don't finish that sentence."

"Allen. Explain. Now."

I wasn't looking at him, but I could picture the look on his face. So I told him everything Komui had said about the medication interacting with my hormones to create the organs that allowed me to get pregnant.

"Where's the bastard who did it?"

"What-?"

"I want to know what that boyfriend of yours is going to do about this."

"I don't know." I scooted away from the toilet to lean against the wall. "He's only known for a couple days. He needs more time to process it."

"That's bullshit. Get him over here right now and make him take responsibility."

I sighed. "And what would that help? I made him remember some awful things from the past. If I'm not careful with him I'll break him like I did back then."

There was a moment of silence. I couldn't see Cross, but I could tell from his breathing that he was trying to calm himself down before he got angry and hit me. "What happened between the two of you during the war? The last I remember you were deliriously happy with him."

"I got hit with one of Komui's potions. He couldn't remember what it did, and I didn't look or feel any different, so we assumed it didn't work."

"And what exactly does this have to do with your relationship?"

"Shut up and let me tell the story." I rolled my eyes at him. "A couple weeks later, I was throwing up all the time and couldn't activate my Innocence anymore. I had gotten pregnant. Komui snuck me away from the Order so I could have the baby in peace. He sent Kanda with me so I'd have a protector if someone found me. He didn't know until last week that Kanda was..."

I shook my head. "Anyway. I had the baby. A little girl named Erika. She was the most precious thing in the world. Kanda and I loved our daughter more than anything. And so did everyone at the Order when we brought her back with us."

"You went back to the Order?! How stupid can you get?"

I wanted to laugh at the outburst, but I couldn't through the tears. "We didn't have a choice. Komui had sent his sister to bring us back. And Eri... Eri had a parasitic Innocence. Trying to run away with her would have only made everything worse. We would have lost her sooner than we did."

Cross was sitting beside me, holding me awkwardly in his arms. "What happened?"

"She was killed by the Noah. She was only six years old. Kanda... Kanda was there when it happened. I never was able to get him to talk about it. Her death broke us both, but he, he never recovered."

I felt Cross tense up. "He committed suicide."

I could only nod. That memory hadn't surfaced before then. I don't know how long I sat there, sobbing into his chest, crying over something that happened a lifetime ago. The memories of the present soon calmed me down. Kanda was alive and well, overworking himself at a job that actually made him smile. Erika was growing inside me once again. There was no threat of death constantly looming over us anymore. The only thing wrong with my life was that I was going to be a mother before I finished high school.


	3. Chapter 3

When I got home from work the next day Lavi and Lenalee were standing outside the apartment. "What the fuck are you two doing here?"

"Nice to see you too Kanda." Lenalee rolled her eyes at me. "Do you know where Allen is?"

I snorted. "Aren't you the one he's always texting? Shouldn't you know?"

"I haven't seen him in person since last summer. That was more than six months ago. Every time I try to get him to hang out he cancels at the last minute." Not all that surprising, ever since he started showing Allen hated going out in public. "We went by his house earlier to surprise him, since Lavi's spring break is almost over, but Cross said he moved out."

"And this is my problem, why?" I wasn't angry at her, I was angry at the Moyashi, but she made a good surrogate.

"Aren't you _dating_ him? Shouldn't you care that your boyfriend disappeared off the face of the earth?" Lavi's tone was irritating, but I wasn't really listening to them anymore. Allen hadn't told them he was pregnant. For some reason that pissed me off. I deliberately ignored the fact that they were my friends too and I hadn't told them either.

I shoved passed Lenalee and unlocked the door. I threw it open and stormed inside. "Oi, Moyashi! Get your butt out here!"

"What's with all the yelling, Bakanda? I'm studying! What the hell do you want?"

I couldn't see Lenalee or Lavi, but I could hear their surprised reactions. "I want you to get your butt out here!"

There was silence, I was waiting rather impatiently for Allen to haul himself out of his chair. "This would go a hell of a lot quicker if you'd come _help_ me, Bakanda."

I stormed angrily down the hall to the nursery. The Moyashi was sitting in the chair in front of the computer, smiling sweetly at me. "See, now we can talk like normal people. What is it that you-"

The smile on his face faded in a heartbeat when Lavi and Lenalee appeared in the doorway. He clutched his blanket tighter around himself. I stalked over and got in his face. "Moyashi. Apparently you've been keeping secrets from your friends."

"I don't want them to see me like this, Bakanda." He hissed in my ear. "It's embarrassing!"

"Tough." I swiveled the chair so he was facing the two in the doorway. I knew it hadn't escaped their notice that they were standing in a room designed for a baby. "Think of it as practice for Monday."

He glared at me for a moment before he sighed. "Can I go to the bathroom first?"

I laughed in annoyance and helped him to his feet. "The blanket stays here, Moyashi."

"Fine." He dropped the blanket back into the chair and used the silence that followed to escape.

Lenalee and Lavi were so stunned that speaking was impossible. But then, Allen looked _very_ pregnant. Their shock was a feeling I remembered well from back during the war, the first time the Moyashi had told me I'd knocked him up.

.x.x.

Cross didn't kick me out. He wasn't the most supportive person in the world, and he called me an idiot a lot more than he used to, but he didn't kick me out. And that was more than I had hoped for.

He was up to something though. I could tell. He was sneaking around a bit too much for my liking.

Like Kanda had asked, I was careful to not mention Erika when we talked about the baby. If he needed me to pretend that it wasn't her, then I would do that. I would much rather pretend and have him, than do this alone.

It had been about two weeks since I told him. I was officially two months pregnant. We were sitting on his couch one night when he suddenly got serious. He paused the movie and turned to look at me with those dark cobalt eyes. "So when are you moving in?"

"What?" He wanted me to live with him?

"We're having a baby, Moyashi." He brushed a lock of hair out of my face. "You should at least be living here. You certainly can't stay with Cross."

I was suspicious of the mention of Cross, especially since there wasn't a swear word attached. "What did he tell you?"

Kanda laughed. "Relax. It's nothing like that."

He pulled me onto his lap and placed his hands on my belly. I was far from showing, but we could both tell that my stomach wasn't as flat as it used to be. "I want to marry you Allen. But before-"

"What?!" I twisted around so I could look at him. "You asked Cross for permission to marry me?"

He scowled at me. "Don't give me that look Moyashi. You're a minor and he's your guardian. I had to."

"What did he say?" I didn't want to get married because of the baby, but I was curious of what Cross thought, that man didn't tell me anything.

"He was pissed I beat him to it. Apparently he wanted to chew me out for knocking you up." Kanda smirked at me. "He told me to get your ass out of his house because he hates not smoking around you."

I laughed. That sounded about right, Cross thought of the baby as an annoyance.

Kanda kissed the top of my head. "Cross also said that if he ever found out that I was mistreating you or his grandchild he'd make my life miserable."

I pulled away and narrowed my eyes at Kanda. "'Grandchild'? Did he actually say that or are you putting words in his mouth?"

Kanda laughed at my reaction. "He actually said it. Multiple times in fact. He never referred to the baby as anything else."

Cross thought of the baby as his grandchild? That was hard to believe.

Kanda leaned in and kissed me. "So, will you marry me? You can move in here, there's plenty of room for three of us."

I sighed. "No. I'll move in with you, but I'm not going to marry you."

.x.x.

Allen returned before the others recovered. He sat back down, but I had taken the blanket so he couldn't hide under it. "Are you sure you want _me_ to tell them? You don't like the way I do it."

I had to give that some thought. "They came here looking for _you._ You should tell it, but could you please do it my way for once?"

"Did you just say please?"

I growled at Lavi. "How is that important right now?"

"It's not." The redhead turned away from me to narrow his eyes at Allen. "Given that we're standing in what appears to be a nursery, and the bean sprout here looks pretty huge."

"Please don't use words like that." The Moyashi squirmed slightly under his gaze and placed his hands on either side of his belly. "I don't like to be reminded of how big I've gotten."

He stopped and stared at his left hand for a moment. From the look on his face the baby must have been kicking him pretty hard. His hand rubbed circles on the spot. "Ssshh sweetheart, everything's ok, please calm down."

When he finally looked up he was greeted with very confused looks from our friends. He stopped moving his hand and sighed. "I'm eight months pregnant."

Lenalee fainted. I rolled my eyes. "Guess we're moving this out to the living room."

I helped the Moyashi out of his chair, then went over and picked up Lenalee as no one else was in any condition to do it. Lavi looked like he was close to joining her. I laid her down on the couch and Allen brought a damp cloth from the kitchen and placed it on her forehead. I pushed Lavi into a chair, expecting Allen to take the other, but he had moved his piano stool closer.

It didn't take long for Lavi to snap out of his stupor. He pestered Allen with stupid questions that I only half listened to. When Lenalee woke up Allen told them about the medication and what it had done to him.

"How are you so calm about all this? How can you act like it's normal?"

Allen blinked at her. "I've been pregnant before."

"What?!"

The Moyashi gave me a sad look and mouthed an apology before turning back to the others. "Do you remember Erika?"

Lavi and Lenalee exchanged a confused look. "Of course, but what does she have to do with this?"

"She was our daughter." I tried not to wince at the words. I didn't know why I was still in the room, why I hadn't fled the second he brought up Eri.

"I know you and Erika acted like that but-"

"I gave birth to her. She called me her mother because I was." There was a hint of frustration in the Moyashi's voice. He had just as much trouble talking about Eri as I did. Why hadn't I noticed that before?

"But-"

I cut off Lavi's question. "We disappeared for two years and returned with a child that looked just like us. Where the fuck did you _think_ she came from?"

.x.x.

I moved out of Cross's house and in with Kanda. Cross acted like he was glad to finally get rid of me, but I knew better. He was still my legal guardian and he continued to support me however he could. He accompanied me to all my doctor's appointments, as Kanda was usually at work.

Marie found out when he stopped by to drop off something from Teidoll. And he told Miranda. The pair had been married for a couple years before remembering their past. And that past is what made explaining my pregnancy easy. They were who we had trusted with our relationship, and they knew who Erika was to us. No more words were necessary.

That November Kanda got promoted at work. One of Jerry's head chefs left without warning, and Kanda was the choice to replace him. The promotion pissed off the guy he got promoted over, but Kanda was used to pissing people off, so that wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He had to switch restaurants, which was a hassle, but it was worth it in the end.

At the end of that month we had the ultrasound to determine the baby's gender. If it weren't for Erika I probably would have chosen to be surprised. But we needed to know, the whole issue was moot if we were having a boy.

It was a girl. I felt justified in my belief that Erika was coming back to us. But I knew to keep quiet around Kanda, there was no need to stress him out.

I managed to avoid Lavi and Lenalee over Christmas break. I was too embarrassed by how much I was showing, I was five months pregnant but looked much further along than that. They wanted to celebrate my birthday with me, but I convinced them that because I was only turning seventeen there was no need to have a party. If they suspected that I was avoiding them they didn't let on.

.x.x.

After finding out, Lenalee insisted on taking me out shopping for baby stuff. I didn't want to go, but she and Kanda agreed that it was punishment for not telling her to begin with.

It was actually nice being out with her. She was my best friend and I had missed hanging out with her. Sure we texted all the time, but it wasn't the same.

She thought ahead and brought a wig, makeup, and some jewelry. It was embarrassing to wear, but no one would suspect that I wasn't female. And I was grateful for that.

The biggest problem was that I was due in five weeks. My belly was big and I had trouble standing for any period of time. Walking between stores was a pain. My feet and back ached like they never had before.

Eventually Lenalee gave up on the shopping. We spent the rest of the evening sitting in the food court and talking. I told her all the things about Eri that Kanda didn't want to hear. And that was a thousand times nicer than being dragged into stores I didn't want to go to.

.x.x.

Monday came far too quickly. Probably because talking to Teidoll was one of the things I hated most.

Allen was having a bad day, and that certainly wasn't helping my mood. But I got him to the car. Well, Miranda got him to the car, but I can at least take credit for calling her. She even met us as soon as we pulled into the driveway. She helped the Moyashi out without a fight, whereas if I had tried he would have started cussing.

Teidoll swamped me with a bear hug the second I walked inside. Allen conveniently disappeared into the living room. For as much as he complained about his lack of mobility he could still move pretty quickly when he wanted to. "Alright old man. That's enough. Let me go already."

"But I haven't seen you in so long Yuu~." He was practically crying.

"It's been less than a year. That means you've seen me since I moved out, so knock it off already." I successfully shoved him off and moved into the living room.

Allen was sitting in a recliner that usually held a bunch of pillows, which was probably why he picked it, the way they fell around his body you couldn't tell that he was pregnant. I leaned over the back of the chair. "You're so weird, Moyashi."

"Bakanda." He tilted his head back to stick his tongue out at me, and I took the opportunity to kiss him.

We were rudely interrupted by applause and a catcall. Daisya had arrived. I turned to glare at him, Allen blushed. "I gotta admit, when Marie told me you were gay I thought he was pulling my leg. 'Kanda? Gay? That's just not possible!' But here you are, making out with a guy in the middle of Teidoll's living room. Guess I-"

I pulled a pillow off of Allen and whacked Daisya with it. "Shut up."

"Now, now boys, behave." Teidoll took the pillow from me. "I like having my living room in one piece."

"Che." I rolled my eyes and moved back to behind Allen. "He started it."

"That's not a good reason to hit him, Bakanda."

"Che. I used a pillow, it didn't hurt." I picked up another pillow and lightly hit Allen in the face with it. "See?"

Given his mood I expected him to yell at me. Instead he giggled. He took the pillow and placed it back on his lap. "Don't start something you can't finish, Yuu."

I laughed at the implication and moved my hand to rub his belly. He caught my wrist before I got close. "She's finally asleep, I'd like her to stay that way."

"Sorry." I kissed the top of his head and pulled my hand away.

Someone cleared their throat. I looked up to see everyone staring at us. Miranda and Marie were sitting together on the couch, smiling. Teidoll had a knowing look on his face that made me wonder who spilled the beans. Which left Daisya... He scowled at me when I looked at him. "Clearly I'm missing something, because it looked like you were about to feel up your boyfriend in front of us. So what's going on?"

Teidoll laughed before I could respond. "Allen's pregnant. That's wonderful!"

I growled at him. "Who the fuck told you that?"

"Calm down Bakanda." I was hit awkwardly in the face with a pillow. "I did."

"Moyashi?" When had Allen talked to Teidoll? He never left the apartment.

"Relax. It was back during the war." That didn't exactly make me feel better.

"Why don't I remember that?" Allen looked down at his lap, there were tears in his eyes. "Moyashi?"

"It was after you died, Yuu." I snapped my head to look at Teidoll. "He told me everything after we lost you."

"Oh." _The Moyashi out lived me. Huh_.

Teidoll came over to stand in front of Allen. "Now, how did it happen this time? How far along are you? When are you due? What-"

I took the pillow from Allen and hit Teidoll with it. "Calm down old man. Give him time to talk."

Allen scowled at me. "I thought you said you were going to tell him."

I ruffled his hair. "That was before I knew that you already had."

"Fine." He stuck his tongue out at me before turning to smile at Teidoll. "There's a whole lot of technical stuff that I don't understand, but the short version is that I was on a medication as a child that did unexpected things to my body when I went through puberty."

"So wait, does that mean you have, like a vagina, and stuff?" I wanted to hit Daisya for the inappropriate question.

Allen actually did. He punched Daisya right in the stomach. "Hell no! I'm male!"

Daisya collapsed backwards onto the couch, rubbing his stomach. "You didn't have to hit me!"

Marie laughed. "Daisya, if Allen could get up out of that chair, he'd have done a lot more than hit you. You shouldn't have asked such a stupid question."

I watched Allen smirk at Daisya. The Moyashi didn't have much of a black side in this lifetime, but it was still terrifying when it came out.

Marie ignored the scared squeak Daisya made. "And Kanda, we had a deal. _You_ were supposed to talk to Teidoll, not shove it off on Allen."

I made a face at Marie. "Fine. I'll talk. But he knows what happened in the past, there's nothing more to say."

A timer dinged before anyone could disagree with me. Teidoll moved away from Allen. "That's the oven. Why don't you all wash up and head to the dining room."

The others followed him out of the room while I helped Allen to his feet. I stole a quick kiss, then we joined them.

When Teidoll saw how big Allen was, I was immediately chewed out for not telling him sooner. After that Teidoll fawned over how adorable Allen's belly was, and the boy blushed furiously and tried to escape. The scene was embarrassing for all of us, but it at least shut Daisya up for the rest of the evening.

After dinner Marie and Miranda shared their news. Teidoll probably could have died from happiness in that moment. Allen and I left not long after that, he wanted to get home before he fell asleep.

.x.x.

I practically collapsed on the bed when we got home. It had been a long day and I was exhausted. It didn't help that Eri had kept me up most of the night before. I just wanted to sleep, but I had a hunch that Kanda wasn't going to let that happen.

I looked over at him and he was giving me that look he used to give me all the time back during the war. The one that said he wanted to talk but didn't know what to say. I sighed. "Yes. I told Teidoll everything. You remember how Eri's death broke you? Well that's what yours did to me."

Kanda sat down beside me on the bed. He didn't say anything, but he took my hand.

"Teidoll found me crying in the chapel one night and put most of it together. I only filled in the details." I had to choke back a sob, and remind myself it was only a memory. "He and I are the only ones who know what really happened to you."

"What _did_ happen to me? I don't remember."

I sighed and gripped his hand tighter. I didn't want to tell him, but I knew he'd get it out of me eventually. "You committed suicide."

"What?!" Kanda dropped my hand. "That doesn't sound right at all."

I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "You were a mess after we lost Eri. I know you remember that. You've said a few times that her death almost killed you. But that's wrong. Her death _did_ kill you. You decided that life wasn't worth living without her and took your own."

He was silent, and I knew without looking that he was crying. But then, I was crying too. "I can't really blame you for it. You had no experience dealing with loss. And everyone was so focused on making sure _I_ was ok that they didn't notice how much pain _you_ were in."

I sighed. "I blame myself a little. If I hadn't been so good at hiding my emotions then maybe you wouldn't have felt like you were alone."

Kanda laughed briefly. "Of course _you_ found a way to make _my_ decision your fault." He pulled me close. "I'm sorry I put you through that."

I sniffled, still crying yet partially laughing at what he said. "The worst part is that the war ended less than six months later. If you had just held on a little bit longer we would have been free. We could have picked up the pieces and started over. Instead I had to go on without you."

He had picked up my hand again and was playing with my fingers. "Did you? Move on that is. I probably lost the right to care, leaving you behind like I did, but did you at least find some happiness?"

I shook my head. "I don't remember. And I don't want to. If I could, I'd forget what of the past that I do remember."

I pulled his hand onto my swollen belly. "And you came back to me, so I can forgive you for leaving. But please, can we put this behind us and move on with our lives? I'm tired of the past holding us back."

Kanda leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Sure, just answer one question first. How certain are you that that's Erika inside you?"

"Completely." I stared into his eyes so he could see just how serious I was. "Our daughter is coming back to us. Just like you came back to me."

The baby shifted inside me and kicked the spot where Kanda's hand was. "See? Eri's just as tired of being delicate around you as I am. She wants you to acknowledge her."

I watched with bated breath as Kanda sat up and moved towards my middle. He pulled back my shirt, exposing my belly to the slightly chilly room. And then he spoke to the baby, not as a generic 'baby girl' like he had for the whole pregnancy, but as Erika. I don't remember what he said, just that it was soothing. I fell asleep before he was done.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Here it is. The final chapter and epilogue. Enjoy.

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

According to Allen, everything was different once I acknowledged Erika. It was obvious from his behavior that his body wasn't under as much stress as before. He said she calmed down and stopped her constant squirming around inside him.

I pointed out that that's what happens during the final month of pregnancy. Our little girl wasn't moving around as much because she didn't have the room to do so. But he had a retort for that: a change like that doesn't happen overnight, it takes time. "And I didn't say _moving,_ Bakanda, I said _squirming._ There's a difference."

To prove his point he grabbed my hand and placed it on his belly. "See, _moving_ is the way she shifts to kick your hand. _Squirming_ was the painful way she constantly moved that kept me up at night and made me struggle to get out of chairs."

Allen pushed my hand away and stood up from the couch. The act was far from graceful, but he did it. He grinned at me triumphantly. I had to admit there was truth in what he was saying. He hadn't been able to get off that couch by himself in over a month.

After that his overall mood got better. Between the piano playing and the baby calming down, his stress pretty much vanished. His only struggle was his stubborn desire to finish school before the baby came.

I, fortunately, didn't actually remember committing suicide; that would have been too much. I had a hard enough time with the memories of depression that had surfaced. But the Moyashi's smile helped, and so did bossing people around at work. It only took a few days to put the memories behind me.

.x.x.

I came home from work one day, about two weeks before the baby was due, to find Allen lounging on the couch watching TV. I walked over and kissed the top of his head. "Did someone stop by?"

"No, what makes you think that?" He blinked at me.

"You're not in front of the computer. You don't take breaks unless someone tells you to."

He grinned up at me. "I finished this morning!"

I gaped at him. "Really? You actually got it done?"

"Yep!" If his belly wasn't so big he would have been bouncing off the walls. "I am officially done with high school!"

"Congrats." I leaned over and kissed him.

He broke the kiss after a few minutes, and grinned at me like a little kid. "Can we order pizza for dinner?"

My laugh was interrupted by a knock at the door. I threw a mock glare at Allen. "And by 'can we' you of course mean that you already did."

I laughed at the pout he gave me, then went and answered the door.

.x.x.

The last few weeks of my pregnancy went by both agonizingly slow and way too fast. The closer I got to my due date the worse I felt. Erika was just too big for either of us to get comfortable. My whole body ached. Physically, I was miserable.

Emotionally I was great. My life was practically perfect. I played piano all morning and took a nap after lunch, which Miranda brought every day. Lenalee came over after school and we'd hang out until Kanda got home from work. I suspected the three had an agreement in which the girls were basically babysitting me, but I didn't care. I liked having the company. And to be honest I liked knowing that someone would be around if I went into labor before the scheduled C-section.

Cross even showed up a couple times. He never said anything. We'd just sit there and stare at each other for about fifteen minutes or so until he'd announce that he needed a cigarette. It was awkward, but I appreciated the gesture.

Kanda worked up until my due date. The restaurant didn't have a paternity leave policy, and even with making an exception for family, Jerry could only afford to give him a month off. Kanda chose to save the time for once the baby came.

Despite the precautions, I was alone when the contractions started. Thinking it was a false alarm, I had let Miranda leave without saying anything to her. But by the time three o'clock rolled around I was in a lot of pain. And the ultra-punctual Lenalee was late.

.x.x.

I got stuck in traffic. There was some sort of accident up ahead. I called Allen to let him know, but he didn't answer the phone. He was probably asleep.

It was still weird seeing that boy pregnant. But the weirdest part was the way he acted, as if it was perfectly normal for a guy to have a baby. His claim that he was Erika's mother, that that sweet little angel was the biological daughter of Allen and Kanda, was mind blowing.

I sat in the traffic jam for about another fifteen minutes before I got the chance to get off the freeway. The back way usually took longer, but the slow speed limit was preferable to not getting anywhere.

Allen didn't answer the door when I arrived, but that was why I had a key, so he wouldn't have to get up. I expected to find him asleep in the bedroom. Not on the couch. And definitely not in labor. I could tell from the look on his face that he was in pain. "Allen!"

"Hey Lenalee, what took you so long?" He smiled like nothing was wrong, like he would all the time during the war.

"There was an accident on the freeway. But never mind that! You're in labor. Have you called anyone?"

He looked like he was about to protest, but a contraction cut him off. When it passed he gasped out, "Phone's in the bedroom. It was too far away."

I ran back to grab it. When I returned to the living room, Allen had gotten up off the couch. I grabbed the hospital bag from the hall closet, then helped him to the door. He was hit by another contraction just before we reached my car. It was followed by something I never expected to happen: his water broke.

I didn't even think that was possible. According to Lavi, Allen had actually hit Daisya just for _asking_ if he wasn't completely male downstairs. I had assumed he'd be having a C-section.

"Lenalee, can you focus please?"

"Sorry." I helped him into the car quickly. "Which hospital is closest?"

Allen shook his head. "No. Not the hospital. Your brother's office."

I didn't have time to react to learning that Komui had known all along. I closed the door behind Allen and hurried to get the car running. Allen was on the phone, remarkably calm for the situation, and certainly a lot calmer than _I_ felt. He hung up as another contraction hit. "Komui will be ready for us when we get there."

I concentrated on driving. Allen made another phone call. Actually he made several, Kanda wasn't answering. "Call the restaurant. They'll pass the message on to him."

He groaned through another contraction. "I don't have the number."

"Why not?! Didn't you work there?!"

"Didn't think I'd need it. The C-section was scheduled for ... tomorrow." Allen's breathing was growing shaky. "I didn't expect to ... go into labor ... before then."

He was hit with another contraction as I pulled into the parking lot. My brother and his nurse were waiting for us with a wheelchair. Allen gave me his phone before they pushed him into the back. "Call Jerry, he'll know how to get ahold of Kanda." After a pause he tacked on, "You should probably call Cross too. He'll be a pain to deal with if he feels like I left him out."

.x.x.

Kanda arrived at Komui's office a little over an hour after I left the message for him. Jerry hadn't just passed on the message, he had pulled Kanda out of the kitchen and sent him away, working the rest of the young man's shift himself.

By that point, Allen had been in labor for over six hours, and was almost fully dilated. According to my brother, the birth canal had always been there, it just didn't open until the baby was ready to be born. Allen had chosen to give birth naturally, rather than going ahead with the C-section. A decision that baffled me, given the pain he was in. I sat beside him, holding his hand. It was all I could do, I was too panicky for any of the other things that Komui suggested I do.

Even Kanda was calmer than I was. He wordlessly slid onto the bed behind Allen, kissing the top of the boy's head. I was escorted out of the room soon after, when Komui announced that it was time for Allen to start pushing.

I sat in a chair in the hall, listening in horror to Allen's yelling. I hadn't wanted to leave the room, but after hearing all that, I knew I wouldn't have been able to handle staying. It was agonizing, listening to my best friend go through that.

The screaming seemed to go on forever, and then there was silence. The sudden quiet was deafening. A few seconds later it was broken by a baby crying.

.x.x.

I was tired. I didn't know how the Moyashi was even awake. But then I'd look at the sleeping newborn in his arms.

Erika had come back to us, just like he had insisted all along. There was no denying that. From the moment I first laid eyes on our little girl, I knew it was her. Neither of us wanted to miss a single precious second of our second chance with her.

Lenalee wanted to hold her, begging incessantly, but Allen refused to let go. I laughed. "Give it up, Lena. He won't even let _me_ hold her. Try again in a couple hours when he's finally passed out."

The comment was rewarded with a pout from Allen and a scowl from Lenalee. She sat on the bed beside us, brushing Eri's cheek with her fingertips. I didn't like how close she was, but I kept my mouth shut, I'd let Allen enjoy a moment with his best friend. "She's gorgeous. I gotta admit, I thought you were pulling my leg when you told us Erika was your daughter. But here she is. I don't think I'd have believed you actually gave birth to her if I hadn't seen it for myself."

She leaned closer and kissed Allen's forehead. "You're amazing Allen. Someday you're going to have to explain to me what was going through that head of yours when you chose to pass on the C-section."

The Moyashi laughed at that. "That's easy: I forgot how much it hurt."

They fawned over the little girl, cooing and making baby noises at her. Until Eri started to get fussy. The nurse came in with a bottle, Allen took it politely then shooed her and Lenalee away.

I wordlessly took the bottle from him and placed it on the bedside table. He adjusted his shirt and maneuvered Eri to his nipple. He was too embarrassed to tell the women that he was lactating. Which wasn't surprising to me, it took him almost two weeks to stop sending _me_ away last time. I loved watching though. There was something beautifully fascinating about seeing him breastfeed our child.

There was a commotion outside, but we didn't pay it much attention until the door was suddenly thrown open. And Cross burst in.

I felt Allen stiffen in my arms. Cross turned away immediately. "I did _not_ need to see that!"

"Then go back outside!" Allen hissed.

However the commotion only caused the Lee siblings to come back into the room. Lenalee blushed deeply, but didn't look away. Komui didn't seem to grasp what was going on. "What? What are you-?"

"I'm nursing my child." Allen's voice was level, but I could tell that he was forcing himself to stay calm. "Now can I please get some privacy?"

No one moved.

"Get the fuck out! Now!" I had to settle for glaring at them until they did as they were asked. I was pinned between the Moyashi and the headboard, I couldn't get up without disturbing him and Erika.

.x.x.

When Allen finally went to sleep, I took Erika out to where the others were waiting. I didn't exactly want to let go of her, but I knew that if I didn't offer to let the others hold her they would annoy me until I gave in. Lenalee took her first, babbling the whole time about all the girly things they'd do together when Eri got older. It was talk of makeup and shopping that I didn't really listen to. I only put up with it because I knew that Lenalee wasn't actually thinking about what she was saying.

Cross took the baby from Lenalee. He looked Eri over like he was examining a piece of art. Then he held her close and turned his gaze on me. "How on earth did you and that idiot manage to create something so perfect? There's no way that this little angel is actually your daughter."

"I know how you feel Cross, she's much too sweet. If I hadn't seen Allen pregnant for myself I'd be wondering where she really came from." I was wrapped in a hug from behind. I bristled and shoved the man off me. _Great, when did_ he _get here?_

I glared at Teidoll while he tried to take Eri from Cross. The annoyance faded slightly when Cross literally kicked him away. "It's still my turn with my granddaughter. You just got here, you can wait a little longer."

The two men glared at each other. And an unspoken challenge was thrown down. I groaned. The Moyashi was never going to believe that Cross thought he would be a better grandfather than Teidoll.

After a few more minutes of glaring, Teidoll turned away from Cross and wrapped me in another hug. I tried to shove him off but he wouldn't let go. "Would you knock that off already?"

His response was to start crying. "Oh, Yuu. Your daughter is so beautiful!"

"And that's a reason to cry?"

Eri sneezed and Teidoll's attention was back on her before I got an answer. I sat down in a chair and nodded off while the others fawned over my baby. This time around everyone would know she belonged to me. And that was perfect.

.x.x.

I leaned back against the headboard with Erika in my arms. Kanda was asleep in the bed beside me, his hair splayed out around him. Even asleep he looked exhausted, so I did my best not to wake him as I nursed our daughter.

His leave had ended just a week earlier, and he was still adjusting to working with an infant at home. My offer to get a job had been shot down before the words were even out of my mouth. Kanda was adamant that the best place for me was at home with our baby, and that he could handle a little fatigue. I tried to argue with him, but he got Miranda on his side, and she wasn't someone I could argue with. It wasn't that I wanted to leave Eri, but I couldn't stand watching Kanda struggle.

Eri shifted in my arms and my attention returned to her. She was every bit as beautiful as I remembered her being, maybe even more so without that parasitic Innocence marring her skin. It was hard not to burst into tears of joy every time I touched her. She was real and she was mine. My life was whole with her in it yet again.

.x.x.

~Epilogue~

Erika was three years old, and her father's pride and joy; she had Kanda wrapped around her little finger. The little girl was a handful, she had her mother's boundless energy and her father's stubbornness.

Allen and Kanda had gotten married a month after Allen turned eighteen. The family now had a house in the suburbs with a big yard for Eri to explore. Allen did freelance work writing and composing songs. His latest composition was liked by a top country artist, and the recording hit number six on the charts. There was talk of using it in the summer's big blockbuster.

Christmas with a three year old had been a fiasco. Especially with the girl's grandfathers trying to outdo each other in getting her gifts. Allen and Kanda were secretly scared that the former generals would actually succeed at spoiling their daughter.

Marie and Miranda had brought their sons, aged two and three, and together the three children drove their parents crazy.

Lavi waited until after the chaos calmed down to drag Allen out for his birthday. The youngest of the group was now twenty one, and he wanted to make a fuss over it. His plans were falling apart quickly though. Kanda flat out refused to participate, and Lenalee was stuck in China for school.

Allen wasn't cooperating either. Lavi had shown up without warning, thinking that Allen wouldn't turn him away to his face. "I _can't_ Lavi! There's too much to do! And-"

"Allen, it's Kanda's day off. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you went out." Lavi was sick of the excuses, he'd been getting the same ones all week.

"Lavi, please. I can't go out tonight."

"Then what about tomorrow? Tomorrow's just as good for me."

"Lavi, stop-"

Allen was cut off when Erika ran into the room, her navy hair in complete disarray. "Mommy!"

"Hi sweetheart." He bent down and picked his daughter up, smiling at Kanda who had followed the little girl into the room. His navy hair was as much of a mess as Eri's was.

"Daddy says it's bedtime." Erika pouted adorably, hoping her mother would let her stay up longer.

"Then you'd better say good night so you can do what Daddy says." Allen kissed the little girl on the forehead. "And give Daddy back his hair tie, you know Mommy's the only one allowed to take it from him."

Erika huffed. "Ok Mommy. Good night."

She kissed Allen on the forehead, and he set her down. She ran over to Kanda and pulled his hair tie out of her pocket and placed it in his outstretched hand. "Sorry Daddy."

He ruffled her hair. "Don't do it again Sprout. Now let's get you upstairs."

Erika squirmed away from him when he tried to pick her up and ran back to Allen. She stood on her tiptoes so she could plant a kiss on his belly. "Good night baby."

Then she ran off, Kanda chasing after her before she got too far away. "Get back here Sprout!"

Allen laughed at the scene before turning his attention back to Lavi. He smiled sheepishly at the expression on the redhead's face. "Like I said, I _can't_ go out with you. There's no point in celebrating turning twenty one if I can't actually drink."

"Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you going to hide it like last time?"

Allen sighed. "I've only known for a couple weeks, Lavi. We're just not ready to tell anyone yet."

The room fell silent. Lavi didn't believe Allen, and Allen had nothing more to say. Kanda came back into the room, his hair once again in a neat ponytail. "Well the Sprout's asleep. Why is it that when _you_ tell her to do something she does it immediately, but she'll fight _me_ every step of the way?"

Allen laughed and kissed his tired husband. "Must be something in the Kanda genes. You do the same thing. It's probably the reason I'm pregnant again."

Kanda kissed Allen back. The make out session that followed was more than Lavi wanted to see. "I'll just show myself out. See you later."

The pair laughed when they broke apart. Making out like that always scared Lavi off. Kanda placed a hand on Allen's belly. They stood like that for a moment, foreheads pressed together. Neither was sure how they felt about having another child, but they loved what the pregnancy meant. They were finally completely free of the past.

"How'd the appointment go? Is our son healthy?"

Allen laughed lightly and placed his hands on top of Kanda's. "You really want a boy, eh? Well you'll probably get your wish, one of them is bound to be male."

"'Them'?"

Allen grinned up at his husband. "We're having twins."

~Fin~


End file.
